A Giant Screen Safari in One of the Most Beautiful Wildlife Reserves on Earth: the Okavango Delta

A GIANT SCREEN SAFARI IN ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL WILDLIFE RESERVES ON EARTH: THE OKAVANGO DELTA

Following the worldwide success of Wild Safari 3D, the first ever 3D wildlife film, nWave Pictures invites audiences on a new and exciting adventure in the African wilderness.

For many of us, Africa remains a distant and inaccessible place. Now however, there is an opportunity to visit the Okavango Delta, one of the most unique wilderness areas on this fascinating continent, in a new 40 minute giant screen film, African Adventure 3D: Safari in the Okavango.

The Delta, created by the flood waters of the Okavango, is so large it can be spotted from deep space like a giant hand, bringing relief to this desolate region. Little-known to the outside world until a few decades ago, this secluded 20,000 square km maze of lagoons, channels and islands forms one of the most beautiful and pris- tine wildlife reserves on Earth.

This is not an exhaustive documentary about the region, but rather a unique photo safari in the flooded desert.

Led by South African zoologist Liesl Eichenberger, viewers join world- renowned wildlife filmmaker Tim Liversedge, for a thrilling adventure in the flooded desert. Through stunning 3D photography, they get “up close and personal” with a great variety of big-game animals, crocodiles, hippos, elephants, and lions, and observe one of the largest bird concentrations on the planet.

At the young age of 20, Tim was hired by the Smithsonian to participate in a survey of deltas. He fell in love with the Okavango and has lived there ever since. In the late sixties, he became one of the first game wardens of the Okavango. Twenty years ago, Tim’s passionately held conviction that the long-term protection of wildlife habitats would require the support of the international community prompted him to interrupt his career as a game warden to become a wildlife filmmaker and to share his deep knowledge of the place with worldwide audiences. People will not care about a place they don’t know. Tim believed his films could make a difference.

For over 10 years Liesl Eichenberger, the host of nWave’s Wild Safari 3D, has been involved with conservation programs in South Africa. Having always wanted to explore the Okavango, she could not pass up the invitation to spend several weeks at Tim’s film camp in the heart of the delta, and to discover the region through the eyes of an expert. [ Film Synopsis ]

African Adventure 3D: Safari in the Okavango offers viewers the ultimate giant-screen 3D adventure of going on a photo safari in the Okavango Delta without ever leaving the comfort of their local cinema. The immersive beauty of 3D photography puts the audience in the boat with zoologist Liesl Eichenberger and wildlife filmmaker Tim Liversedge as they explore this unique region of our planet untouched by civilization.

Departing from the panhandle in the north where the Okavango River meanders through a 10-mile wide mat of papyrus, viewers will venture into the heart of the delta and come face-to-face with hippos, crocodiles, elephants, lions, and many types of antelope.

Through the wonders of giant screen 3D technology, viewers will get a sense of “being there” developing a greater appreciation of why conservationists like Liversedge have been striving their entire lives to ensure that the Okavango Delta is treated as a national treasure; worth protecting for generations to come.

EFAUZtvJ [ Production Notes ]

After making significant breakthroughs in the large format industry with computer animated films including, 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension, Alien Adventure and Haunted Castle, producer/director Ben Stassen created the world’s first wildlife adventure in three dimensions, Wild Safari 3D.

Following the success of Wild Safari 3D, Stassen decided to embark on an even more ambitious project, a photo safari in the Okavango Delta. Uniquely formatted, African Adventure 3D places the viewer in the passenger seat of a variety of open air vehicles including a 4 wheel drive, a motor boat, an airboat and even a Mokoro, a canoe carved out of a tree trunk, accompanying Tim Liversedge and Liesl Eichenberger exploring the delta.

“I wanted to take this photo safari to a very literal level,” says Stassen, “and actually position the audience in the back seat of the vehicles.” The use of 3D filming technology accentuates audience involvement in the film. “3D enables you to truly take the audience and put them in the filmic space,” says Stassen. “I wanted to bring the audience close to the wildlife in a real setting and create a strong sense of being there.”

Beyond the visceral fun of such an immersive film experience, African Adventure 3D also sets out to tell an important story about the need to preserve unique ecosystems like the Okavango Delta for generations to come.

As a lifelong conservationist, Tim Liversedge decided to become a wildlife filmmaker in the 1980s. His passionately held conviction that the long-term protection of wildlife habitats would require the support of the international community prompted him to interrupt his career as a game warden to become a wildlife filmmaker and share his deep knowledge of the place with worldwide audiences. People will not care about a place they don’t know. Tim believed his films could make a difference.

“Making Tim the central figure of the film turned out to be a great opportunity to tell an interesting story set in a fantastic region, but it also proved to be a formidable challenge,” explains Stassen. Over the years, Tim has made a series of spectacular films in and around the delta. To capture some of Tim’s magic in a giant screen film and in 3D would turn out to be a logistical nightmare. The amount of equipment and the size of the crew needed for this type of production are unheard of in traditional wildlife documentary production.

“It was a very stressful production. The water level was the highest in 25 years. It was very hard to move around,” tells Stassen. We chartered a total of 57 planes over the course of the production just to move from point A to point B. Some flights were a mere 7 minutes long, but there was no other way to get to the nume- rous locations.”

“But it is often under the harshest of conditions that the best scenes are captured,” observes Stassen, “and hopefully this thrilling adventure will give audiences a greater appreciation for this corner of paradise.”

EFAUZtvJ [ INTERVIEW WITH DIRECTOR BEN STASSEN ]

How did African Adventure 3D come about ? BS: I am not a wildlife filmmaker, but I really enjoyed making Wild Safari 3D in South Africa a couple of years ago. Wild Safari 3D was not your traditional wildlife film, but rather a more visceral, immersive film experience. The storyline was very basic. We spent the duration of the film driving around in a 4x4 looking for the Big Five. Yet, moviegoers really went for it and seemed to enjoy the strong sense of being there made possible by the size of the screen and the 3D.

When I decided to embark on another African safari film, I searched for a topic and a location that would enable me to retain the same immersive quality of the first film and at the same time tell a more fully developed story. It all fell into place when world renowned wildlife filmmaker, Tim Liversedge accepted not only to be my producing partner, but to also be the main focus of the film.

Why the Okavango Delta ? BS: I first selected the destination before I even knew Tim was going to be involved. The Okavango Delta is one of the most beautiful wildlife reserves on Earth. The landscapes are spectacular and the wildlife is extremely varied and abundant. I knew Tim as a fellow large format filmmaker and I had talked to him a couple of times at IMAX conventions. Tim lives in Botswana at the edge of the delta and I decided to give him a call to ask his advice on how to go about filming in that part of the world. It did not take me long to realize that he is the foremost expert on the region. At the end of the first phone call, Tim invited me to pay him a visit. He would act as my location scout.

On the very first day, Tim showed me a couple hours of videotape from his 20 years of filming in the Okavango; rough, unedited behind-the-scenes footage of him working in the delta. The material looked so exciting to me. Remember, I have no real experience as a wildlife filmmaker and I had no idea as to what it really takes to capture animal behavior on film in a remote and inaccessible place like the Okavango Delta. I though I was going to see long sequences of Tim sitting around waiting for things to happen. Not at all! Tim looked and behaved like Indiana Jones with a camera. Over the years he has developed all sorts of amazing shooting platforms and filming techniques. But most importantly, I came to realize that Tim was a filmmaker with a mission.

This life-long environmentalist gave up his career as a game warden, to become a filmmaker. In the 1980s, he felt an urgent need to share his deep knowledge and passion for the Okavango with international audiences. Southern Africa is extremely arid, and thirsty countries in the region periodically eye the Okavango as a wasted source of much needed water. On several occasions, plans to divert the waters of the Okavango were success- fully derailed by world conservation organizations. Tim’s films played an important role by putting this corner of paradise on the map and getting the international community to act. How did you approach making this film ? BS: Most wildlife documentaries we see on TV focus on animal behavior. It was my ambition to use the experience of the giant screen to immerse the audience in the environment, bring them face-to-face with the animals, and to try to capture the excitement of observing these extraordinary creatures at very close range, and, in their own habitat.

How close could you get to the animals ? BS: We got incredibly close to the animals. At first, Tim was not sure we would be able to pull it off. Our crew was too big, our equipment too noisy. He feared the animals would react aggressively or simply run. For the first couple of weeks it was really tough, but slowly and surely we were able to get better and better footage.

In the end, we got 3 lion sequences, two of the most in your face 3D live action sequences thanks to the coope- ration of a majestic herd of giant African elephants, a great Pels fishing owl sequence and a wide array of other wildlife moments.

How did the animals react to your filming them ? BS: Despite all the equipment we had, the animals recognized us as a non-threatening presence. This was truly amazing considering our unorthodox behavior in the field.

When you go on a photo safari in the wild, you are supposed to sit down, keep quiet and stay still. Well, we stood up most of the time, operating the equipment. We moved around constantly and talked a lot.

The typical shot went like this: We’d get into position and using his laser pointer, Scott Hoffman (AC) would measure the distance between the animals and the camera. He’d shout the reading to Sean (DP) who could barely hear us since he had his head under the camera hood. Sean would then mentally calculate the inter-axial distance and shout the offset back to Wayne Baker (AC) who’d set up the camera at the proper distance. While this went on I’d shout at everyone to hurry up lest we miss the shot. Not exactly the typical behavior of wildlife filmmakers who often sit still for hours waiting for the perfect shot. The animals must have sensed we were trying to achieve the impossible. They left us alone!

How difficult was it to film in the Okavango ? BS: Very ! On several occasions, I thought we would not make it. Thanks to Tim’s connections we were granted the permission to set-up a filming camp in the heart of the delta, but it remained a formidable challenge to move around. Logistics was a nightmare. There were also some serious safety issues. There are wild and poten- tially dangerous animals everywhere: Lions, elephants, hippos, crocodiles. We shot in the winter so we did not have to worry too much about black mambas, boomslang, or other highly venomous snakes.

EFAUZtvJ [ INTERVIEW WITH SEAN PHILIPS, Director of Photography ]

How different was this production from your first 3D wildlife film, Wild Safari 3D ? The Okavango Delta is a vast flood plain, which means that almost all of the film takes place on or near the water. Water can bring a fantastic level of visual possibilities to a location. Reflections add mystery and sym- metry to the stark locations, and bring very diverse forms of life together.

What particular challenges did you and the crew face filming in the Okavango delta ? Everything had to be able to work on the water, usually in small, flat boats that could get in and out of swampy locations. When shooting from boats or Road Rangers the compact 3D camera was mounted to a head that keeps the camera level and stable by correcting pan, tilt, roll, and slide axis thousands of times a second. With such a camera mount we could crane out from a moving vehicle as it crossed rivers and bumpy stretches of road to get our shots, knowing that the audience would ultimately see a steady moving image on a giant screen. To grab wildlife shots in 3D on a zoom rig we had to be able to accurately pull focus on very long lenses while also changing convergence. Convergence is a 3D control that allows the viewer to more comfortably view stereo images. The challenge came from figuring all that out on the fly as focus, f-stop, pan, tilt and focal length chan- ged constantly.

The elephant sequences are among the most in-your-face 3D sequences ever shot with wild animals, were you really that close to the animals or did you cheat with long lenses ? For timid or extremely dangerous wildlife I built a special zooming 3D rig that would magnify the image ten times on the screen. However, that 'in-your-face' quality can only come from getting very close to the animals with very wide-angle lenses. The 15/70mm 3D process can recreate reality on a one-to-one basis, which means that if you want that animal to look like it’s a meter from your face in the theater, you want the camera to be a meter away from it on location.i

In the delta, water is everywhere, does the humidity affect the filming ? We were pretty lucky to be shooting film and not a form of tape, which can be much more vulnerable to humidity. Equipment had to be very carefully cleaned all the times and optics had to be completely free of any dirt, condensation or water drops at all times. In a 2D movie you can get away with a lot of dirt or water on the lenses, but when there are two lenses that are essentially recreating what our eyes see in real life, that dirt or mois- ture will literally feel as if it is lodged in your eyeballs !

When filming on such a distant location how often do you ship the negative to the lab ? Are you able to screen the footage during the course of the production ? We camped and shot in very remote areas that we had to fly into using small chartered aircraft, so we were not optimistic about being able to get dailies shipped back to us in any form. We made several film shipments to RPG Productions in Burbank, California. Rick Gordon, a large format veteran, supervised the processing, telecine, and printing of the film, giving us essential feedback on how things were looking. [ A BRIEF HISTORY OF 3D AND HOW IT WORKS ]

African Adventure 3D features incredible "in-your-face" 3D cinematography of some of the most fascinating wild animals of Africa.

Here’s how the technology works:

In 1838, Charles Wheatstone invented the world’s first stereoscopic viewer based on Renaissance theories of perspective. Constructed of an assortment of angled mirrors, his invention contained two separate drawings — one for the left eye and one for the right.

When both images were observed at the same time, Wheatstone’s viewing device produced a stereo image. Wheatstone’s device encouraged the beginning of a new era in motion and still photography. The fact that the left eye and right eye see objects from different angles is the basis for 3D photography. Looking at an object through one eye and then the other, the image appears to slightly change position. However, with both eyes open, the two images that each eye observes separately are fused together as one by the brain. It is the fusion of these two images that creates normal binocular sight and allows the brain to understand depth and distance.

To replicate this process on film, two camera lenses are used in place of two eyes. Filmmakers place the two lenses of a 3D camera at about the same distance apart as the distance between two human eyes. This space is referred to as the interocular distance, or interaxial distance, and is typically set at about 2-1/2 inches. To project a 3D film, two individual images representing the perspective of the left and right eye are simultaneously projected on screen. Without special glasses during the presentation, it looks like seeing double. To correct the problem of seeing double, each lens of the 3D glasses has a special filter that blocks out the opposing image, allowing each eye to see only one image. The brain perceives the fusion of the two separate images as one three- dimensional image.

There are several ways to project the dual images necessary to exhibit a 3D film; however, not all processes require two separate projectors. The anaglyphic film format simultaneously projects two different, offset images from one single strip of film. One image is coated with a green (or blue) color the other image is coated red. Spectators are given glasses that sport one green (or blue) lens and one red lens. The green lens of the glasses cancels out the red image on screen, while the red lens of the glasses cancels out the green (or blue) image on the screen. The brain processes each separated image as one 3D black and white image. To see 3D in color, the images for the left and right eye must be kept separate. Before the advent of today’s large format theaters, which use two separate synchronized projectors, previous methods placed two 35mm frames in various configurations, either over and under each other or side by side. 280 B.C. Geometrician Euclid ponders the notion of how two-eyed vision creates the perception of depth.

2nd Century A.D Greek physician Galen notes that the left and right eyes see objects from different angles. He makes a physio- logical study of visual perspective and the fibers of the optic nerve.

16th Century Renaissance artists experiment with perspective and stereoscopic drawings. Fresco paintings are created with objects out of frame, giving the illusion of depth.

1798 Etienne Gaspard Roberts of Belgium invents the Phantascope, an archaic slide projector that projects odd and bizarre images that seem to loom out into the audience when the shutter device on the lens is manipulated.

1838 Sir Charles Wheatstone of England creates the world’s first stereoscopic device. Wheatstone’s reflecting stereoscope is a bulky device that uses a series of mirrors angled opposite a pair of drawings that produce the illusion of depth when viewed.

1849 British physicist Sir David Brewster devises a smaller more practical version of Wheatstone’s viewer, the enclo- sed stereoscope. Similar to a View-Master, Brewster replaces the mirrors with prismatic magnifying lenses, allowing the pictures to be placed directly in front of the spectator.

1851 Brewster’s stereoscope is put on display at the Great Exhibition world’s fair. A stereo photography craze ensues around the world. The public buys half a million stereoscopes over the next five years.

1890s Frederick Varley and William Friese Green patent the first stereo movie camera to combine left and right eye images on a single strip of film. However, there is no evidence that a projector had been designed to show films made with this device.

1903 The Lumière Brothers in France make the first official 3D movie for exhibition entitled, L’Arrivée du Train.

1915 3D films premiere at the Astor Theatre in New York City on June 10th. Featured are a 3D version of the play, Jim the Penman and a film that presents various scenes of New York and New Jersey in 3D. 1918 The Keith-Abey vaudeville circuit takes 3D on the road. Audience members wear red-green anaglyphic glasses to view a chorus line illuminated from behind a screen with red and green light. With the 3D glasses on, the dan- cers appear to be high kicking their legs right in front of the faces of the audience.

1922 Teleview is used to show 3D travelogue and science fiction presentations at the Selwyn Theater in New York. Films are projected conventionally, and could be shown in either 2D or 3D. Films are shot with dual photography - with stereo images printed in alternating frames on one strip of film.

The first anaglyphic feature film, Power of Love, is presented at the Ambassador Hotel in Los Angeles.

1930s Worldwide experiments are conducted with the use of polarized light and 3D photography. In the U.S., Edwin Land invents a polarized filter made from an inexpensive plastic material called “Polaroid.”

1936 Edwin Land presents a 16mm polarized 3D film to a meeting of the Society of Motion Picture Engineers in New York.

1939 Chrysler Automobile Company is the first company to commission the use of a polarized stereoscopic film sys- tem. Motor Rhythm, a 3D film showing car engine parts revved up and moving in sync to music, is shown at the Chrysler exhibit at the New York World’s Fair.

1952 Hollywood studios are skeptical about the potential of 3D films. The advent of television brings entertainment into the living room, resulting in a drop in movie theater attendance. United Artists takes a chance on 3D with the release of Arch Oboler’s Bwana Devil. Despite poor reviews, the film grosses nearly $100,000 in its first week. The studio boasts that the 3D special effects will “put a lion in your lap.” Bwana Devil was remade in 1996 as The Ghost and the Darkness.

This is Cinerama opens. Although it cost $1 million to make, this giant screen film grosses $32 million. 1953 House of Wax starring Vincent Price is released. Ironically, director Andre de Toth was blind in one eye and could not experience the 3D effect.

The first 3D musical, Those Redheads from Seattle, is released.

Jack Arnold’s, It Came from Outer Space is released.

The famed musical Kiss Me Kate is released in 3D and 2D. The film features dance routines by Ann Miller, Tommy Rall, and Bob Fosse, with performances by Howard Keel and Kathyrn Grayson.

The first Cinemascope film The Robe, is released in September. The film is an instant success. Less costly than either 3D or Cinerama, its introduction marks the beginning of the end of 3D.

1954 Alfred Hitchcock’s, Dial M for Murder is released in 2D. Although Hitchcock had never expressed an interest in 3D, the film was originally shot in 3D. No one knew of the existence of a stereoscopic print until two film cans labeled left and right eye were discovered in 1979.

Cat Women of the Moon is released by Astor Pictures. Cat women clad in black tights demand to be taken back to Earth to destroy all men after a rocket crew lands on the Moon.

1955 Hollywood’s encounter with 3D ends.

1966 The Spacevision process is developed by Robert Bernier. The process calls for images to be shot in a widescreen stereo format and stacked in an over and under fashion, then placed on 35mm film.

Arch Oboler’s The Bubble, is released in Spacevision.

1967 Directed by Alfons Balcazar, the first 65mm negative/70mm positive 3D film, Operation Tycoon, is released in Europe.

1971 Henry Egan’s Spanish production of Frankenstein’s Bloody Terror uses the same5-perforation, Hi-fi Stereo 70 sys- tem as Operation Tycoon.

1974 Italian horror movie, Flesh for Frankenstein is released in Spacevision. 1980 Alfred Hitchcock’s Dial M for Murder, is released in 3D.

1981 Comin’ at Ya! is released in 3D. Critics dismiss the film but the public responds enthusiastically. The film makes $8 million in its first year, signaling the beginning of a 3D renaissance.

1982 Paramount Pictures releases the most successful 3D movie to date, Friday the 13th, Part III, in 3D. Grossing $19 million its first week, the third installment in the series makes 65% more than its predecessor.

Walt Disney Studios explores new possibilities for 3D with the film, Magic Journeys, created for Walt Disney World’s Epcot Center.

1983 Hollywood releases several 3D films. Orion Pictures releases Amityville 3D, Columbia Pictures releases the Canadian space adventure, Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone, and Universal Pictures releases Jaws 3D.

1985 Paramount Pictures releases, The Man Who Wasn’t There. The film is a critical and financial flop.

1986 Transitions, the first full-color large format 3D film, debuts at Expo ‘86 in Vancouver, Canada.

Disneyland opens Captain Eo. The 17-minute 3D film features multidirectional sound and special laser and smoke effects.

1993 Iwerks Entertainment combines 3D film with in-house special effects such as smoke and rain to create the multi- sensory experience, Haunts of the Olde Country at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg Virginia.

1995 Sony Pictures Classics releases Wings of Courage, one of the first narrative 3D large format films. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud; the film stars Val Kilmer, Tom Hulce, Craig Sheffer and Elizabeth McGovern.

Sony also releases Across the Sea of Time. The film presents turn-of-the century black and white stereo photo- graphs, which are seemingly larger-than-life, in large format 3D.

Universal Studios Florida opens the $60 million attraction, Terminator 2: 3D. Directed by James Cameron, “T2-3D” features three giant screens and a stage on which performers interact with the film. 1998 3D MANIA ! is released. 3D MANIA ! is the first large format 3D film to be released exclusively in 3D.

2000 An alternative color anaglyphic version of 3D MANIA ! is released. This version, utilizing the ColorCode™ conver- sion process, enables the film to be shown in regular 2D theaters --- in 3D !

3D sensory experience, The Amazing Adventures of Spiderman opens at Islands of Adventure at Universal Studios, Florida.

2002 SOS PLANET is released. Produced in association with the World Wide Fund for Nature – The Netherlands (WWF) and hosted by Walter Cronkite.

2003 Universal Studios Hollywood opens Shrek 4D based on the popular film. The attraction features in-theater effects to enhance the 3D.

2005 Wild Safari 3D: A South African Adventure is released.

Chicken Little is released in 79 digital 3D theaters in North America.

2007 nWave Pictures completes Fly Me To The Moon, the first feature animated film conceived and created in 3D for a 3D only release.

EFAUZtvJ [ BIOGRAPHIES ]

Liesl Eichenberger After graduating from high school in 1993 Liesl studied zoology and physiology at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg. Graduating with honors in Wildlife Management from Pretoria University, Liesl traveled in Europe, Egypt and America. She then entered a wildlife ranger training program in Africa and began working as a ranger at the Bayethe Private Game Reserve which subsequently merged with the Shamwari Private Game Reserve where she has worked as a field guide for 4 years. Wild Safari 3D marked her first appearance in a giant screen motion picture.

For the next two years, Liesl worked on a Chinese tiger rehabilitation program aimed at rehabilitating captive Chinese tigers in the wild.

She took a leave of absence to participate in African Adventure 3D.

Tim Liversedge Tim Liversedge was born in London and moved to Africa with his family at the age of one. He is a citizen of Botswana where he has spent most of his life. Wildlife, art, conservation and photography have been lifelong passions. At the age of 20, Tim was hired by the Smithsonian to spend three years in Botswana researching mam- mals. He later worked as one of the country’s first game wardens, marking boundaries for new national parks, tracking poachers and finding ways to help wildlife pave its way in the newly independent country.

Purchasing his first professional 16mm camera in the mid-80s, Liversedge initiated a television series on the Kalahari and the Okavango Delta, which won a Golden Panda (the most prestigious award in wildlife filmmaking). In 1987, he established his film production company, Tim Liversedge Productions, to share his deep knowledge of the region and its environment with an international audience. His home and studio is situated in Maun on the southern edge of the Okavango Delta in Botswana.

He has since completed 17 co-productions for National Geographic TV, the Discovery Channel, NHK Japan, PBS USA, BBC and Turner Broadcasting, which have garnered many awards. Always at the forefront of innovation, he pioneered the use of 35mm film and High Definition video for TV films to achieve superior quality. Roar: Lions of the Kalahari (2003) was his entry into large format filmmaking. Again, breaking new ground, he created the first fully digitally post-produced wildlife giant screen film. He has begun work on a second 70mm film. Liversedge has lived and worked in Botswana for 40 years now. Ben Stassen A graduate of the USC School of Cinema and Television, Ben made an auspicious start in the motion picture industry by producing My Uncle’s Legacy, a film which garnered him a Golden Globe nomination for Best Foreign Language Film in 1990.

Working with the Brussels-based company, Little Big One, Stassen inaugurated the use of computer generated imagery (CGI) to make simulator ride films. The first project, Devil’s Mine Ride, produced in conjunction with Showscan Entertainment, was one of the first high resolution computer graphics films made for the giant screen and it set a precedent for many other ride films which followed.

With the D&D Media Group, the largest television production company in Belgium, Stassen co-founded nWave Pictures as a fully integrated digital studio developing, financing, producing and distributing products for the location-based entertainment market. In six years, Stassen produced 23 ride films and built the largest independent library of motion simulation films available in all formats.

Stassen’s first large format directorial effort, Thrill Ride: The Science of Fun, co-financed and distributed by Sony Pictures Classics, marked nWave Pictures entry into the giant screen market. Further large format efforts by nWave include 3D Mania: Encounter in the Third Dimension, Alien Adventure, Haunted Castle, MisAdventures in 3D, SOS Planet, and Wild Safari 3D, all directed by Stassen.

In the Fall of 2006, Stassen embarked on his most ambitious project yet, Fly Me To The Moon, the first feature length animated film designed and created in 3D for a 3D only release.

Sean Phillips Since 1983, with his work creating animated 3D titles for Friday the 13th Part III, and Jaws 3D, Director of Photography, Sean Phillips has pushed the envelope for stereoscopic filmmaking. As visual effects supervisor on the large format 3D films Wings of Courage, T-Rex: Back to the Cretaceous and Siegfried & Roy: The Magic Box, Phillips resolved unique technical challenges in getting stereo photography and computer images to work in the 15/70mm giant screen format.

As director of photography on nWave Pictures productions Thrill Ride, Encounter in the Third Dimension, MisAdventures in 3D, and Wild Safari 3D, Phillips has demonstrated a mastery of giant screen 3D that is prag- matic and at the same time, ingenious.

In May of 2001, Phillips was presented the Kodak Vision Award for Excellence in Large Format Cinematography. Two special venue 3D projects Starlight Express, a live stage show incorporating stereoscopic projection and R.L. Stine's, Haunted Lighthouse at Sea World in San Diego have recently incorporated Phillips' unique wizardry. The award-winning large format 3D film Bugs! 3D and nWave Pictures’ MisAdventures in 3D (2003), a 3D sequel to the 1999 Encounter film are his most recent stereoscopic projects. Using a unique technology for stereoscopic photography on Wild Safari 3D and African Adventure 3D, Phillips has broken new ground for wildlife documentaries. Philips is currently directing his first large format film, Sea Monsters 3D. [ PRODUCTION CREDITS ]

Produced, Written and Directed by Ben Stassen

Associate Producer Tim Liversedge

Line Producer Don MacBain

On Screen Appearances Tim Liversedge - Filmmaker Liesl Eichenberger - Zoologist June Liversedge - Photographer

Director of Photography Sean MacLeod Phillips

Sound Recording & Sound Design Pierre Lebecque

First Assistant Cameraman & Steadicam Operator Scott Hoffman

First Assistant Camera Wayne Baker

Second Assistant Camera Tim Lovasen

Key Grip Bobby Adams

Scorpio Technician Gary Lucas

Production Coordinator Desmond Green

Digital Effects Supervisor Jos Claesen

Edited by Shon Hedges

Film Recording Ken Semer

Post Production Supervisor Rick Gordon

Music Supervisor Pierre Lebecque

Musicians François Garny, Manu Hermia, Michel Seba, Bilou Dhoneux

Music Recording Peter Soldan Sound Editor Yves Renard

Foley Phil Vanleer

Mix Luc Thomas

Mixing Studio Studio L’Equipe

Post Production Services RPG Productions

Post Production Supervisor Rick Gordon

Post Production Editorial James Manke Wade Bartlett

Post Production Coordinator Miya Lau

Quality Control Edwin Escalante

Film Laboratory Fotokem

Color Timer Kristen Zimmerman

Digital Intermediate Services by DTS Digital Images

Digital Colorist Rick Taylor

Project Lead Ryan Gomez Stephanie Middler

Picture Conform / Engineer J. Ray Mitchell Jr.

Film Scanner Paul Howarth

Data Handler Paul Jackson

Botswana Crew Hal Bowker Lee Mynhardt Janice Holland & Bee Bainame Ramadi T. Mathiti (Ba ta) G. Maipelo G. Tlhagologo “Go man” R “Kaene” S “Modimo” M “Limpy” M “T boy” L “Tab’s” K Special Thanks to Ker & Downey – Kanana Camp

Camp Manager Carl Bouwer

Special thanks to the country of Botswana

Digital Effects / Computer Animation nWave Digital Lynn Cohen Virginie Delisse Joel Labby Michael Maree Michel Kill Jean-François Mabille

Camera Equipment Photosonics

Camera Cranes by Chapman Leonard Studio Equipment, Inc.

Additional Footage Wildlife Enterprises – Tim Liversedge

Stock Photography Van Parys Media Inmagine Dr. Simon Bijnens

An nWave Pictures Production

Distributed by nWave Pictures Distribution 282 rue des Allies, 1190 Brussels, Belgium T: +32 2 347 63 19 F: + 32 2 347 24 54 Eric Dillens Goedele Gillis: [email protected] Cedric Igodt: [email protected]

Distribution Agent for North & South America National Geographic 34 East Putnam Avenue, Suite 103 Greenwich, CT 06830 USA T: + 1 203-661-5678 F: + 1 203-661-5556 Mark Katz: [email protected] Antonietta Monteleone Jennifer Lee

All rights reserved nWave Pictures SA, is the author of this filmed motion picture for the purpose of copyright and other laws. This motion picture is protected under the laws of Belgium and other countries. Any unauthorized exhibition, distribution or reproduction of this motion picture or videotape or any part thereof and including the soundtrack may result in severe civil and criminal penalties. EFAUZtvJ